Published in Gwinnett Daily Post, November, 2003
To the editor:
Schools should be a microcosm of life, preparing students to enter the real world. Yet recently an area school announced plans to pay students for merely attending. Does this newspaper give "Post Bucks" to employees who simply show up? My work place does not, but has a firm expectation for punctuality and diligence. Reward and recognition are powerful tools to instill excellence. They should be used with prudence and for efforts of true merit. Rewarding what many consider to be the minimum expectation for education , attendance, cheapens the idea of positive reinforcement. How will these students be prepared to enter the workforce where very different standards exist?
The concept of duty has eroded from our culture. Families have a duty to see that children attend school This may mean that parents remain at home before school to escort a student to the bus, or drive teens to campus and watch them enter the building. It may also mean that students missing school loose their driving privilege. A parental duty is to see that children are in bed at a reasonable hour and rise and shine the next day to be on time for school. George MacDonald, the innovator of modern fantasy, wrote realistically on duty. "'To do one's duty will make anyone conceited who only does it sometimes. What honest boy would pride himself on not picking pockets? A thief who was trying to reform would. Until our duty becomes as common to us as breathing, we are poor creatures." The idea of rewarding masses of pupils for basic behavior necessary to function in society, creates a class of students too dependent on supervision, and ill prepared to live as independent, productive citizens. It robs them the opportunity to learn of duty.
As a former Meadowcreek teacher, I encountered some of the most amazing students in my career. One of my most memorable was a Vietnamese girl, afflicted with throat cancer. While other students were absent with minor aches, she struggled to live. There was a time when we were not sure she would survive to graduation. Yet after her treatments, she returned with a wig, raspy voice, and a ready smile. At the end of the day she appeared exhausted, yet would not even consider a reduced schedule in order to go home to rest. She was not absent again. At the end of that semester she had earned all A's. The positive impression she built in my memory is deep, not only because she excelled, but because she and her family were faithful to her educational goals. They were bound around her neck and written on the tablet of her heart. A wise teacher once said: "Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful also in much." This student was fortunate to live to march to Pomp and Circumstance. No doubt she is successful today due to her faithful attendance.
At Meadowcreek, for one year I had the responsibility of giving Inspirations at PTSA and Honors Nights. After the following remarks, numerous parents approached me to express thanks and agreement. "Be prepared to labor for what is needed and what is right without recognition and reward. Recently I had upset students in my room, bemoaning the fact that in an important service project they came early, worked hard, and stayed late - only to have no one notice or voice appreciation. Such is the reality of life. Much good goes unrewarded. Strive to do great things that are important, with your only motivation being that they are proper and necessary. Steer away from the expectation of fanfare or headlines. Strive to do the best you can, in whatever tasks you become involved in. If you make headlines by discovering a cure for cancer, or if you scrub the hospital floor, do it with a sense of excellence."
Giving "Mustang Bucks" is just horsing around with students. It is not an idea worthy of commendation. Students and families need to be encouraged to grow in faithfulness and duty.
To the editor:
Schools should be a microcosm of life, preparing students to enter the real world. Yet recently an area school announced plans to pay students for merely attending. Does this newspaper give "Post Bucks" to employees who simply show up? My work place does not, but has a firm expectation for punctuality and diligence. Reward and recognition are powerful tools to instill excellence. They should be used with prudence and for efforts of true merit. Rewarding what many consider to be the minimum expectation for education , attendance, cheapens the idea of positive reinforcement. How will these students be prepared to enter the workforce where very different standards exist?
The concept of duty has eroded from our culture. Families have a duty to see that children attend school This may mean that parents remain at home before school to escort a student to the bus, or drive teens to campus and watch them enter the building. It may also mean that students missing school loose their driving privilege. A parental duty is to see that children are in bed at a reasonable hour and rise and shine the next day to be on time for school. George MacDonald, the innovator of modern fantasy, wrote realistically on duty. "'To do one's duty will make anyone conceited who only does it sometimes. What honest boy would pride himself on not picking pockets? A thief who was trying to reform would. Until our duty becomes as common to us as breathing, we are poor creatures." The idea of rewarding masses of pupils for basic behavior necessary to function in society, creates a class of students too dependent on supervision, and ill prepared to live as independent, productive citizens. It robs them the opportunity to learn of duty.
As a former Meadowcreek teacher, I encountered some of the most amazing students in my career. One of my most memorable was a Vietnamese girl, afflicted with throat cancer. While other students were absent with minor aches, she struggled to live. There was a time when we were not sure she would survive to graduation. Yet after her treatments, she returned with a wig, raspy voice, and a ready smile. At the end of the day she appeared exhausted, yet would not even consider a reduced schedule in order to go home to rest. She was not absent again. At the end of that semester she had earned all A's. The positive impression she built in my memory is deep, not only because she excelled, but because she and her family were faithful to her educational goals. They were bound around her neck and written on the tablet of her heart. A wise teacher once said: "Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful also in much." This student was fortunate to live to march to Pomp and Circumstance. No doubt she is successful today due to her faithful attendance.
At Meadowcreek, for one year I had the responsibility of giving Inspirations at PTSA and Honors Nights. After the following remarks, numerous parents approached me to express thanks and agreement. "Be prepared to labor for what is needed and what is right without recognition and reward. Recently I had upset students in my room, bemoaning the fact that in an important service project they came early, worked hard, and stayed late - only to have no one notice or voice appreciation. Such is the reality of life. Much good goes unrewarded. Strive to do great things that are important, with your only motivation being that they are proper and necessary. Steer away from the expectation of fanfare or headlines. Strive to do the best you can, in whatever tasks you become involved in. If you make headlines by discovering a cure for cancer, or if you scrub the hospital floor, do it with a sense of excellence."
Giving "Mustang Bucks" is just horsing around with students. It is not an idea worthy of commendation. Students and families need to be encouraged to grow in faithfulness and duty.
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